


Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

by blueboxesandtrafficcones



Series: Fic Prompts - Doctor Who [7]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Characters Watching The Lion King (1994), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Post-Episode: s01e08 Father's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 04:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12028113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueboxesandtrafficcones/pseuds/blueboxesandtrafficcones
Summary: After a long day trying in vain to save her father, Rose seeks comfort in a childhood favorite.  The Doctor does his best to comfort her, and reflects on how quickly this human girl has captured his hearts.Or: why the newly-regenerated Ten had The Lion King on his mind.





	Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

**Author's Note:**

> There's a writing prompt meme that lists 75 date ideas - this is #3, At Home Movie Night. There will be more to follow (eventually).

It had been hours now since Pete Tyler’s death, and his daughter had barely said a word in that time. Even taking Rose for chips at her favorite shop got no more response than a weak half smile.  The Doctor was getting desperate.

Wracked with guilt over how the day had gone, he started throwing out suggestions, though each only got a sad head shake in response.

“Leisure planet? Spa?  Ice cream?  See a dragon?”

The last suggestion earned him a thoughtful look from the girl, but that too was shot down.

“I’m okay, Doctor.” She told him softly.  “It’s not like this is new, he’s been dead my whole life.”  Despite her accepting words, she still sniffled sadly.

“Do you want to go home?” He finally asked hesitantly.  That got the liveliest reaction yet.

“What?  No!  Do you want me to?”  Horrified, she sat up straight from where she was slumped over the kitchen ( _it’s a ship, Rose, it’s called a galley)_  table.

He blinked at her. “You had a difficult day – just thought a visit to your mum might help.”

At the word ‘visit’, she relaxed, reassured he wasn’t kicking her out.

“What about a movie?” He offered.  She started to shake her head, reconsidered, then blushed.

“Got a winner, do I?” He teased, relieved.  He hated seeing her so sad, and not her usual bubbly personality.

“No.”  She denied, fighting a smile.

“Yes, I think I do. Come on, you can tell me.”  He coaxed.

She fidgeted with the sleeve of her jacket.  “Promise not to laugh?”

“Of course.”  He agreed easily, eager to know.

“The Lion King.”  She confessed, giving a disbelieving laugh at her own answer.

“The what?”

“Disney’s The Lion King.” Rose repeated.  She wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she expected, but it wasn’t-

“Animated, live action, or recording of the Broadway show?”

“What?”  Now it was her turn to be confused.

“TARDIS archives have all three versions.  Which do you want?”

“Uh…”  His easy acceptance had thrown her, and she was shocked that he even knew what it was.  “Animated?”

“Okay.”  He shot her a grin.  “Want to go put your jimjams on?  I’ll set it up, meet you in the media room.

“All right.”  She agreed, and he marched off, leaving her blinking in surprise at the strange turn the day had taken.

Finally snapping out of it, she rushed off towards her room to get ready for a movie night.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Rose walked into the media room to find the Doctor sitting on the couch, with the movie ready to go and popcorn and wine on the coffee table in front of him. She settled next to him, curling her legs up beneath her and leaning back into the cushions with a sigh.

“Feel better?”  He asked kindly.

“A bit.”  She agreed, pulling the soft blanket off the back of the couch and wrapping it around herself.

“Good.”  He stood up, and she looked at him in alarm.

“Where are you going?”

He looked down at her in surprise.  “Do you want me to stay?”

“I mean- if you want to. You don’t have to though.”

He settled back into the corner of the couch, and gently stretched out his arm towards her.  “Then I’ll stay.”  He was rewarded with a warm, happy smile, which alone was worth it.

He reached for the remote, then paused before starting the film.  “Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask- why The Lion King?”

She stayed quiet long enough for him to regret asking.

“I loved the movie as a kid. There’s just something about how Simba grows up without his dad and still manages to be king, and live a wonderful life that gets me.”  She shrugged, embarrassed.  “Plus, the soundtrack’s great.”

“It is great.”  He agreed, and without further ado played the film.

He was thankful for his Time Lord brain, which allowed him to not miss a moment of the movie though most of his attention was on the woman beside him.  He could hear her singing along under her breath to the first few songs, though she noticeably quieted when it came to the stampede that would kill Mufasa.  As the events of that scene played out, remarkably similar to her experiences that day with Pete, she shifted until she was leaning against the Doctor’s chest, head resting over one of his hearts, silent tears streaming down her face.  He brought his arm down to hold her close, and traced what to her were meaningless circles.

She brightened up at the appearance of Timon and Pumba, going so far as to sing along out loud. He was amazed at how good her voice was, and was pleased to see her enjoying herself.  He wasn’t really surprised at how emotive a viewer she was; she gasped, yelled, and cheered at all the appropriate spots.

There was a part of the Doctor that was extremely uncomfortable with how much he cared for this girl.  It worried him, how happy her joy made him, how much he hurt, hearing her cry.  He knew it would be best for both of them if he took her home, and never saw her again.  And yet, when she turned to smile at him at the end of the movie, he knew that he would break both of his hearts a thousand times over to save her a moment of hurt.

“Did you say something earlier about a live action version?  Or, for that matter, Broadway?”  She asked him.

“I did.”  He smiled down at her, pleased to see her bouncing back to her normal self.  “Released in 2019.  James Earl Jones, of course, will still be Mufasa, but otherwise it’s a new cast. It’s been on Broadway since 1997, and debuted in the West End in 1999.”

“That’s brilliant!” She enthused.  “Doctor?”

“Yes, Rose?”

“Can I pick the next trip?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You pick most trips.”  He reminded her.

“Well, yeah, but after what happened today…”  Her eyes dropped to where she was worrying the corner of the blanket.  He shrugged.

“Wasn’t your fault, really. You asked – I didn’t have to take you. Though, mind, I think we’ll be a bit more careful in the future.  Or, more specifically, the past.”  The pun worked as intended, and she let out a loud laugh.

“What did you have in mind?” He had his suspicions, but wanted to let her ask; he’d no doubt give in, but he was inclined to make her work for it a bit.

“Live action premiere?” She asked hopefully.

“That, Rose Tyler,” he told her seriously, “I can do.  First thing tomorrow.”

“Great!”  Laying a spontaneous kiss on his cheek, she bounded off, throwing a quick  _good night!_  over her shoulder.

“Fantastic.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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